The Philadelphia Press Association announced this week that the Times News has earned five honors in this year's PPA "Best of the Best" Media Awards competition, including first place in two major categories.

In PPA judging, the Times News competes against the largest daily newspapers of Greater Philadelphia, Delaware and New Jersey.Judges announced that Donald R. Serfass, managing editor, features, will receive the top writing award in breaking news for "Wind-fueled fire guts Schuylkill house," a description of firefighters' valiant attempts on Nov. 1, 2014, to battle a rural blaze which eventually destroyed a Grier City single-family home.Serfass, of Tamaqua, also won first place in public service writing for his in-depth report "Could Lincoln have been saved?"The March 21, 2014, feature story examines a theory that small-town barber Simon Jefferson had met John Wilkes Booth in Tamaqua and learned of Booth's plans to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. However, Jefferson, a free black man and son of slaves, wasn't given credibility when he tried to alert authorities.The full-page essay ended up in a tie with a competing project by the Coatesville Daily Local News. As a result, Philadelphia judges will present first place awards to both works.PPA judges also will award Serfass second place in column writing for "A senseless murder," an Under My Hat column that reflected on a tragedy in his own family.Judges also selected Serfass's two-page investigative report "Massacre at the Amber Lantern" for third place in the all-inclusive category of daily newspaper writing.The June 14, 2014, two-page report included interviews with police and local residents in order to reconstruct events leading up to the unsolved homicide of four men.The act of big-city crime, allegedly mob-related, rocked the streets of Hometown on Flag Day, 1938. Serfass's story incorporated original UPI crime-scene photos which hadn't been seen in 75 years.Serfass also won second place in feature photography for a front-page news photo "A hero returns."The June 11, 2014, image depicts a casket being removed from a hearse when the body of Captain Jason Jones was returned to his hometown. The Green Beret was killed in Afghanistan June 2 of last year.The Philadelphia Press Association, begun 1945, is dedicated to the preservation of journalistic standards and ethics to foster a higher degree of public confidence and respect for the newsgathering profession.The awards will be presented June 14 at a ceremony in Haddon Heights, New Jersey.